Review: Rad Women Worldwide, Written by Kate Schatz, Illustrated by Miriam Klein Stahl

Beyonce has said that “girls run the world”. And I believe we do. We can be anything we want to be. If this list of women doesn’t inspire you, I don’t know what will.

I mentioned the great Beyonce. She is not in this book. But the great women who inspired her are featured here. I imagine future volumes would eventually include her and the rest of Destiny’s Child, maybe Hillary Clinton (regardless of what you think of her politically), Oprah, and Emma Watson too. Hey, maybe we can see 2ne1 too. A fangirl could dream.

This list has 40 great women from 30 different countries. Some of them are household names, some not really. But all of them impacted the world, empowered men and women, raised their voices and took action. They used their knowledge and talents to fight for change not just for women. We all know Malala Yousafzai who fought for education. A bullet to the head didn’t stop her from speaking out. Fe del Mundo, the first female who was accepted to the Harvard Medical School. A Filipina. She then devoted her entire life to children healthcare. Marta, a Brazilian futebol player who didn’t let poverty and her short stature from achieving greatness in the sport. And of course, my favorites Venus & Serena Williams who at 35 and 36, dominated this year’s Australian Open as runner-up and winner respectively. It boggles my mind why up to this day, they still have to fight to get the recognition they so truly deserve. There is absolutely no question that these sisters are already two of the best in history of sport.

The artwork in this book is intense. There ink drawings, black and white; some of them are just silhouettes. Their simplicity reflects somewhat of a subdued power, sort of a tribute to this amazing women and letting their actions speak for them. The descriptions in a form of essays are short but very well researched. They’re capsules of information but they are enough for the reader to realize how extremely amazing these women are.

I recommend this book to everyone, male or female, young or old. Maybe you’ll see yourself in these women and it’ll inspire you to do more. Who knows, maybe it’ll be you up there someday.

Rating: 5/5. I’ve never read something so empowering. Thank you, Blogging for Books, for the opportunity to read this and share it with others.